


Hoot?

by loverbouquet



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Autumn, Childhood, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Owls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-09-27 18:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10039367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loverbouquet/pseuds/loverbouquet
Summary: The royal children are playing around the castle one day, when they hear a strange noise close by.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All righty, so first off, I was absolutely NOT expecting the amount of feedback that I got on Roses and Jewels. If you left a kudos or a comment, thank you so so much!
> 
> Now, about this. I couldn't really think of a better title lol. For some oddball reason the origins of Feh (the owl that holds onto the daily orbs and whatever you spend your Nintendo points on) popped into my head, so I thought I would write a little somethin' about it. Plus, I figured it would be fun to write about Alfonse and Sharena as little kids (I'd say around 8 and 5 in this).

The beginning of the autumn season was always a pleasant one. The days were no longer unbearably hot, but also not bitter cold. Leaves would change their colors and slowly descend to the ground, either one by one or in clumps. If one were to put enough leaves in a pile, the fun of jumping into it was hard not to enjoy.

"Come on, Alfie, you can get more leaves than that!" A little girl called out to her brother, who holding a pile about half the size of him.

"Sharena, this was your idea! Why don't you go find some?" He responded, dropping the pile once he was close enough.

"Because I'm a princess, and a princess never dirties her hands!" She shot back, sticking her tongue out at her bluenet brother.

"Doesn't a princess also help those in need?" He asked, smirking at her. She couldn't think of a good comeback for this statement, so she simply huffed, crossing her arms and beginning her search for more leaves. Alfonse couldn't help but laugh at his little sister's gesture, although he had to admit it was a step up from crying to their mother any time the two had a disagreement.

Sharena seemed to have plenty of luck finding leaves, given her circumstances. Her and Alfonse were both still very young, and were not permitted to go outside of castle grounds without supervision, so she couldn't go very far in her search. She brought back a smaller, albeit efficient pile to combine with her brother's. The siblings put the two together, backing up to ensure a good jump. Alfonse counted to three, and they both ran, leaping to the pile, and just like that, it scattered in response to their jumping in. They remained in the middle, giggling away before deciding to make another one. They began working on the new pile when they heard something.

"Wait, what is that?" Sharena gasped, turning her head to her brother.

"I don't know..." Alfonse replied. "Keep your voice down so we can hear it better."

_....Hoot... hoot..._

An owl? During the daytime? It was certainly something the two were not familiar with. They tip toed around the yard, hoping to get closer to the source of the noise. It grew larger, and as they listened closely, they discovered that the owl sounded like it was injured. They eventually were stopped by the gate which blocked off anything outside of the castle, hindering their search. Alfonse retreated inside, hoping to find his mother and that she would help them look for the owl.

"Prince Alfonse, what has the queen told you and your sister about running in the castle?" He was stopped by a guard, who raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"...that we're not to do such a thing." He sulked. "But it's urgent, Mr. Ketut! There's an owl outside and it sounds hurt!"

"I thought owls only appeared in the evening..." Ketut remarked.

"As did I, but that's irrelevant. Do you know where my mother is? Sharena and I want to go look for it, but we think it's outside of the castle..."

"Well, your mother is in a meeting at the moment, so unfortunately she will be unable to help you."

Alfonse looked down helplessly, sniffling while he started walking back to tell Sharena.

"...however, if you feel it's important, she will not be needing me for a while, so I will accompany you and your sister." Ketut offered. "Now, where did the two of you discover this owl?" The guard was led to the courtyard by Alfonse, where Sharena awaited them, eager to find this owl. The trio began their search around the castle's entrance, not having much luck. They then investigated the back of the castle.

_...hoot..._

"We're getting closer!" Sharena proclaimed, walking ahead.

"Yes, now please don't get too far ahead, Sharena. Your mother would have my head if something were to happen to you or Alfonse." Ketut warned cautiously, attempting to catch up with the energetic girl. They were stopped by the sound presenting itself again just behind them. They turned around to find just what the children had suspected lying on the ground. The creature was very small with white feathers, and the pain in its eyes was blatant. Sharena knelt down to get a better look at it, her brother joining her as the guard watched them. Alfonse carefully placed his hand in front of the owl in order to see if it would illicit a response. It simply moved its head closer to his hand, too injured to do anything else.

"What should we do?" Alfonse asked, turning to face Ketut.

"Well... for now we can take it back to the castle, but ultimately it's up to the queen to decide." He responded kneeling down to their level. "We'll need to have a cleric take a look at it first."

Both of them cheered excitedly, each giving him a hug. Alfonse carefully took the owl into his hands and held it close as they returned to the castle, looking for a cleric upon entering.


	2. Chapter 2

Sharena was quick on her feet. Despite Ketut urging her to slow down, she kept her pace, not wanting to waste any time in the group's search. She was soon stopped by a passerby, much to her dismay.

"Now, now, you know you're not supposed to be running in the castle, Sharena." A feminine voice declared from behind her, to which she turned around to find the source of this voice.

"Miss Aurora! Please help us!" Sharena begged, ignoring the woman's warning, who was revealed to be one of the clerics of the castle. Aurora walked towards the young girl, looking down at her.

"What is it? Are you hurt? Is your brother hurt?" She questioned worriedly, as Alfonse approached her with the owl in his arms. "Oh, what an adorable owl! But where did you find it?"

"Behind the castle." Ketut interjected. "The children were playing in the courtyard when they heard it from behind the gate. It seems to have suffered a nasty injury."

Alfonse handed the owl over to Aurora, who examined it to determine the severity of its condition. "Well, it appears to have a broken wing." She explained. "I can use a staff to lessen the pain, but it will need some bandaging. I would suggest keeping it here for at least a few days, although I have a feeling you two want to keep it for longer than that." She hinted, smiling at the children. The group was dismissed after that, leaving her to tend to the owl's wing.

The following day, Ketut brought Alfonse and Sharena to the castle's infirmary to check on the owl. Its wing was bandaged as Aurora said it would have to be, so its movement was still limited, but it could stand on its own and seemed to be happier than it was yesterday. Alfonse approached the table it stood on, holding his hand out to it much like he did when he found it the previous day. The owl noticed this, moving its head closer and nudging his hand with it. The young prince laughed at the sudden gesture, lifting a finger to pet its head.

"It seems to really like you, Alfonse." Ketut remarked, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Sharena walked over, wanting to see how it would respond to her. It did the same thing with her hand before walking back over to her brother. He put his hands out, and it walked onto them and sat on them. 

"I see you guys have managed to find Feh!" A voice said from behind them. They all turned to find Aurora entering the room, some materials in hand. "You'll be pleased to know that she's doing a lot better this morning."

"You found out what she was and gave her a name? Seems to me you want to keep her." Ketut teased, smirking at the cleric.

"...That is not relevant." She protested.

The group spent the rest of the morning with Feh before Aurora dismissed them to tend to her wing. There was a pumpkin harvest in town that the queen was to make an appearance at, and she had already been running late. Ketut escorted the children to the entrance of the castle, where she awaited them before her departure.

"Where have you two been? We're going to be late!" She exclaimed.

"It was my fault, milady Thaleia." He explained to her. "I took them to see the owl from yesterday and lost track of time. My apologies."

"Fine, but do not let it happen again." She scowled, leading the children to the carriage that was outside for them.

While the family was out, patrols continued in and around the castle. Ketut had been assigned to an outdoor area around the back, along with two other guards. They scoped the area, making sure nobody was sneaking into the castle uninvited. Nobody felt it was necessary, as there had never been an intruder from this area, but they were the queen's orders.

"Oh no..." One of the guards uttered, catching the attention of the other two. "That's just awful."

"What is it?" Ketut questioned, approaching the guard. He looked down to find an owl flat on the ground with an arrow in her back, no mistaking her demise. She was much bigger than Feh, but she had similar coloring in her feathers.

"It must be Feh's mother..." He speculated. "She probably went out looking for her and that's when she was shot down."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took a while and I apologize profusely. I didn't think I would run into such a huge writer's block with this, and obviously I can't end it here lol

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning on having this be another one shot, but I was getting a little stumped on what to write towards the ending, so I figured I'd split it into two or three chapters, depending on where this goes :)


End file.
